Stephani~First of all, congrats on finishing school! When I graduated from Nursing school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew more specialties that I didn't like, than I was interested in. My first job was on an Orthopedic floor, simply because I had interned on that floor and thought it would be the easiest place for me to transition to being an RN. I was right. There is so much to learn as a new Grad and I really feel I was a lot less stressed just by working with people I knew and being familiar with the layout of the hospital. After about a year in Ortho I decided to try Circulating in the OR. I was kind of fascinated by the technology. After 4 months I realized I missed having contact with conscious patients. I decided to try GI nursing. I can say, I have never felt more at home with GI nursing. You get to have the technology and the patient contact. Basically, I assist the GI docs with Upper Endoscopies, Colonoscopies, ERCP. I get to do the conscious sedation for the procedures and work prep and recovery. I get to start IV's, do lots of patient teaching, which I love. Best of all, I work in a hospital, but I really have almost clinic hours and work every 8th weekend on call and only 1 holiday per year. Good luck to you. If you have more questions please feel free to ask!

Hey, I just applied for a job as an endoscopy rn and found this thread! I would love hear more about the work in general.. amount of paperwork and such as compared to floor nursing!? I'm very excited and think it would be a good fit as I do love the OR setting .. and especially the hours =)

After 2 years in the ER I made the change to an endo clinic. I love it. We're just as busy we see an average of 20 patients per day and the hours are spectacular. In the ER I wo rked 3 12 hour days, weekends and holidays. Now I work 4 10 hour days with either friday or monday off and no weekends or holidays!
It is a lot of charting however, once you get it down its a breeze. Good Luck!

After 2 years in the ER I made the change to an endo clinic. I love it. We're just as busy we see an average of 20 patients per day and the hours are spectacular. In the ER I wo rked 3 12 hour days, weekends and holidays. Now I work 4 10 hour days with either friday or monday off and no weekends or holidays!
It is a lot of charting however, once you get it down its a breeze. Good Luck!

Another endoscopy question: I hope my posting is appropriate to this thread. I have been treated for about 2 years for AVM, or GAVE, (atrial ventral malformation, or gastric antral ventral ectasia) starting with 3 month interval cauteries of the blood vessels that come to the surface of my stomach, burst and bleed, causing severe anemia. It got to the point where I had a 6 month interval between the cautery endoscopies.

After a point in time, I began to awaken and feel pain during the procedure. To avoid having to give me more pain med, the dr added 50 mg IV Benadryl to the 50 Fentynal and 2 Versed. I felt a little twitch when I was given the Benydral but the nurse never said anything so I didn't think it was anything serious. However, on my last endoscopy, the doctor was on his way up the hall, and called to whoever was giving medications, "50,2,50." It is hard to see what is going on when the staff are there, not visible to you, doing other things. I did not know momentarily that the medication injection started when I started having breathing problems and s.o.b. When I told someone what was happening to me, the response was "you sats are 100% and bingo, I was gone. Dr. told me everything was fine with the procedure. So still feeling sedated, I did not get a chance to tell the Dr. what had happened. Did he walk away uninformed of the breathing problems I was having?

The next day, I called the Dr.s nurse and she said she would tell him about it. Next, I got a call from the Endoscopy manager and I told her what had happened to me. It was my understanding with the sedation, the Dr. should have been there to supervise whoever gave me the con sedation. Obviously, nothing was charted, according to the manager. So she agreed with me that I should ask the Dr. to give my sedation the rest of the times.

On my very last endoscopy, I did not see my Dr. anywhere until he appeared at the foot of the bed. He was rude and angry with me. I asked something about what had happened with my reaction to the Benydral. He very coldly told me "I don't know." Some one in the room said "you won't get Benadryl." There was such a cold attitude in the room. When I was recovered, I was still in the endo suite where a nurse that I had never seen, was there and was giving me oxygen. I just had the feeling that something was going on but no one would let me know what was happening.

And what makes you a criminal when you report what you experienced to the doctor. Of course, I didn't have a chance to do that. And with the "assembly line" medicine, you get little information. Just a few words and photo copy of the endoscopy.

My concern is not only that I had such a reaction to the IV Benydral, I have to have these cautery endoscopies for the rest of my life, and he has done an excellent job to get me to a 6-month interval.

I have tried to get another Dr. but in this hospital corporation, which is the largest hospital of the 3 in this city, I cannot get another GI dr. in this hospital corporation to treat me. Many drs outside of GI don't even know what the condition is. So I am afraid to go to another hospital corporation, not knowing what I will get. I feel very frightened about it, uncertainly about the secrecy and allowing me talk about my experience, while several staff stood around like witnesses.

When I got the info that I didn't need another endoscopy for 6 months, I was very happy about that and sent him a thank you note. I felt that I could have made a big deal about this, but I was greatful that I even had health care and a GI physician that was handling it so well. So, I just counted my blessings, and thought he had learned his lesson.

I feel like I am in a catch-22 position. But I become more concerned and angry about the way I was treated. If I tried to find out what was documented, all &^_* would break loose. I would probably never be able to get another doctor. What about my safety? Is that less important than any problem it causes him?

I have a desire to see what they documented, but I know that asking for my records would cause a lot of trouble, but I don't want to die to save a dr.s reputation.

I hear all the time, "find another doctor." This is not so simple with the all powerful corporate hospitals.

After 2 years in the ER I made the change to an endo clinic. I love it. We're just as busy we see an average of 20 patients per day and the hours are spectacular. In the ER I wo rked 3 12 hour days, weekends and holidays. Now I work 4 10 hour days with either friday or monday off and no weekends or holidays!
It is a lot of charting however, once you get it down its a breeze. Good Luck!

I have worked as the lead PRN nurse at an Endo Unit in a free-standing GI practice for a year now. While in school, I always joked about how I hated poo. I mean, who would really like it? When I started working in the Endo unit, all my nursing school friends laughed and said "YOU? In GI?" and I just laughed back, because by the time they get to me (I am post-anesthesia care), pt's are as cleaned out as they could ever be! No poo whatsoever! Haha.

All joking aside, I really enjoy it. Our unit has everything a hospital OR would have except we only specialize in endoscopy (whether it be flex sigs, colonoscopies, EGDs, whatever). So we get very specific training in this. We have a pre-op area, 3 procedure rooms and a post-op area. I mostly work in post-op but have floated to pre-op a few times. We call the pt back, they get checked in at pre-op, get an IV, get enemas if necessary, they have their procedure, then they are brought to me while recovering from the anesthesia and procedure. I get them hooked up to the dynamap, do a quick assessment of their physical/mental status, bring their family back, get them something to drink, do assessments every 10 minutes (or more often if there are complications), do electronic charting to keep track of everything, give them meds if they are hurting and the doc orders it, d/c their IV, get them up and dressed, walk them out, then come back to the floor and start all over again. I normally have one pt at a time, sometimes 2. We keep them about 30-40 mins before letting them go home (with a driver of course). We predominantly use Propofol (diprivan) but there's a shortage now so we've been supplementing with ketamine and sometimes versed. We have surg techs that are in the procedure rooms with the docs so we don't do that. It is truly an easy job, and almost stress-free, especially because I am PRN there along with two family medical practices, so it's really nice to do something different all the time. If you have any more specific questions, please let me know.

i am actually going to do volunteer work at an endoscopy unit and i hope i like it, i am a new graduate rn but right now i can't find a job so i decided to volunteer and give back to the community and also i love nursing and i don't want to forget all my training.

i am actually going to do volunteer work at an endoscopy unit and i hope i like it, i am a new graduate rn but right now i can't find a job so i decided to volunteer and give back to the community and also i love nursing and i don't want to forget all my training.

that's really cool - and you may just get your foot in the door and be asked to come on staff in the near future.

I am currently a med-surg nurse with 6 months of experience. I was wondering what experience you recommend having before becoming a GI nurse or what tips you have for increasing my chances of becoming hired. I am excited to become a GI nurse because there are many opportunities in my area. However, I am discouraged since I fear that I don't have enough experience compared to other candidates applying for the position. I appreciate your help and advice!!

With 6 months of med-surg, you are more than qualified to do Endo work. It would help a lot if you've done your fair share of IV starts and enemas (but any RN should be able to do enemas - easy peazy). Your assessment skills should be good, good instincts, good attention to pt status. You are far more qualified than I was when I started and I picked it up quickly. I went through ACLS within a few months of starting but honestly, if any of our patients crash or show any signs of distress, the CRNAs or Anesthesiologist take over immediately. I have found that having a really positive attitude and excellent people skills are more important in this position than huge nursing experience. With your basic foundation in med-surg, you will learn quickly what you need to know. I highly encourage you to go for it if you feel called. I wish you the best! Post and let me know what you decide.

OH! I forgot one of the most important details. My Clinical Manager told me that one of the best parts of my cover letter - the one thing that really stood out and got his attention - was this line: "I am a team player and have no interest in intra-office drama or politics." He said he knew he could train me, but you can't really force a person to refuse to play the drama game and he had enough of that. haha

I am currently a med-surg nurse with 6 months of experience. I was wondering what experience you recommend having before becoming a GI nurse or what tips you have for increasing my chances of becoming hired. I am excited to become a GI nurse because there are many opportunities in my area. However, I am discouraged since I fear that I don't have enough experience compared to other candidates applying for the position. I appreciate your help and advice!!

Thank you for the speedy reply! You made my day. I am keeping you updated on my progress. Apparently, when I called the hospital today, they filled that position in the GI lab.... It broke my heart. However, I did apply for an outpatient endoscopy position, but I doubt I would get a response. Ideally,I preferred the first position because it was in the hospital, but I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that something else comes up in the area. I think I should tell you the whole story as to my interest in GI nursing if you don't mind.

I will start off here. I actually started at the hospital I work at in Dec. 2009, so that is why I am counting the experience I have as 6 months. My unit is extremely stressful and my coworkers are not supportive. Therefore, I would like to consider GI nursing because it is specialized and I feel I can learn more skills and do well in my job. Sorry to vent...but I hope this sheds a bit more light into how much I am invested into becoming a good GI nurse. Any other insight?